Think of all the parties you’ve been to in your time. I would imagine that at a minimum one of those parties had a large cut glass bowl filled with a an alcoholic concoction. Floating in this deliciousness was likely a ring of ice and some fruit slices. What was this wonderful elixir you ponder, punch of course. Punch, originating from the Hindi word Panch, was originally a drink made from a base spirit, sugar, lemon, water, and tea or spices. The word became anglicized to punch in the early 1600’s and has been used as such since.

There are nearly as many punch recipes as there are people alive today and I can’t claim that I have a lot of experience with any of them. Thankfully there are people on these here interwebs that can offer some suggestions. In looking at the recipes they vary in difficulty from very easy (Rocky Mountain Punch) to quite involved (David Wondrich’s Regent’s Punch). There are even non-alcoholic recipes, but that’s for another post.

Pretty much any punch is going to be perfect for your party so long as you have enough for the crowd. The recipes range in alcohol content so you could easily make one that could be consumed all day. Some of the recipes even have caffeine in them (David Wondrich’s Rum Punch), so once you’ve gorged yourself on tasty food you’ll be able to stay awake for the remainder of the game. My thoughts?

I don’t think you can go wrong with either of the recipes by David Wondrich. Wondrich is the author of Imbibe! and generally wise cocktail dude. If neither of those sound particularly tasty then take a peek at some of the recipes listed on the Saveur site. There are quite a few and the recipes have a wide range of ingredients and flavors. Still want more? You could always get historical and go with Martha Washington’s recipe for Rum Punch. Or, if you’re still needing more, Jerry Thomas lists 59 recipes in How to Mix Drinks. I’m betting you can find one there that you like. Me? I think I’d go Winter Berry Punch. Just sounds really tasty.

One final thing to keep in mind. Toss a container full of water in the freezer the night before. Rings are pretty traditional but you could go with a simple bowl full of water or get all kinds of crazy and go with a platonic solid. I recommend a icosahedron for super bonus points. You can even embed some flowers or fruit in the ice if you’d like a touch more decorative. However, since this is for a Super Bowl party I’m guessing decorative isn’t super high on your list of priorities.